BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) will soon come out with a cutoff date after which building plans for sub-divided plots without approach roads will not be considered.

BDA vice-chairman Krishan Kumar on Tuesday said the deadline will be fixed by Development Plan and Building Permission (DP and BP) Committee, its apex panel on planning, to discourage unplanned growth in the city. "After the cutoff date, precondition of public road will be strictly enforced," he said.

On December 29, the panel decided to consider plans on plots, already sold in parts without approach roads. The agency allowed and denied permission in such cases though the BDA (Planning and Building Standards) Regulations, 2008, mandates minimum nine-metre-wide road for construction on any land.

A BDA officer said the decision to allow such constructions for some more time was taken because hundreds of people bought small portions of plots to build houses by investing their lifetime savings. The BDA will notify a date, asking people to stop purchasing land without an approach path, the officer added.

Mayor Anant Narayan Jena justified the relaxation. "People, who have invested their hard-earned money, will suffer if not allowed to build a house," he said.

The issue came under the state government's scanner beacuse of waterlogging in localities without proper roads.

The BDA has approached the revenue department not to allow registration and mutation of plots, which have not been sub-divided in a planned manner. The agency has also decided to take action against developers, selling such lands without its permission.

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